Over £½m to be spent on Jersey’s image
Friday 19th September 2008, 2:59PM BST.
A MOVE to give the Chief Minister’s department over £570,000 to improve the Island’s international image was approved by the States yesterday.
Politicians voted by 33 to 13 to endorse a plea from Chief Minister Frank Walker for money for a range of new positions – including a £50,000-a-year ‘change officer’ position to oversee a programme to increase States efficiency.
Senator Walker proposed an amendment to his own Council of Ministers’ spending plans seeking funding for positions that also included a part-time media adviser based outside the Island. Another part of the package was £100,000 a year for a social policy development executive and also £70,000 for a deputy to the Emergency Planning Officer.
In making the proposal Senator Walker said that the Island needed the new posts and money ‘to get over its voice internationally’. He said the Island was under-resourced in the field of international relations and said: ‘If I had had my way Jersey would already have established its own offices in Brussels and London as the Isle of Man and many other competitors do,’ he said.
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The same week they vote to keep GST on food the States vote half a million pounds of public money away to promote Jersey’s image. What an insult to the electorate.
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How about improving the image of Jersey to the people who actually live here first ?????? Another display of the utter contempt Senator Walker has for the people of Jersey. Spend the money on improving tourism – get Jersey back to being a beautiful holiday destination that attracts people again and STOP trying to turn it into a miniature London which none of us want.
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So no money to find out about all the toxic ash on the waterfront and then 1/2a million falls from the sky…when people are struggling with food and heating this coming winter…..can’t they all just go now……And why when i drive round jersey i have a guy’s smug face looking at me from every round about..remember GST..
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Don’t waste our money on that!
We have elections coming up. We have the opportunity to improve the Island’s international image by getting rid of as many useless polititians as possible for free…
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When ministerial government was ushered in we were promised that it would not cost more than the system it replaced.
In fact we were told that it might even be cheaper due to the fact that departments would no longer act in a vacuum, joined up thinking etc.
Sadly there has been no sign of the joined up thinking, the crazy little fiefdoms still exist but they are now headed up by a minister rather than a committee.
And on top of it all we now have the office of the Chief Minister which seems to be turning into our own little No 10 Downing Street.
I fully expect it to have its own HQ building quite soon.
Also one of the larger farm properties could be purchased by a grateful nation so that the Chief Minister would have a country seat where he could receive visiting heads of state etc.
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So much for reducing States Spending!!
Now should the States spend our money to “get over its voice internationally’ or heat and feed the vunerable this Winter??
Tough choice!!
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new positions – including a £50,000-a-year ‘change officer’ position to oversee a programme to increase States efficiency.
What a waste of money. Thier are plenty of people in the States already in the position to provide these efficiencies and i dont see the reason to add to the already over burdened budget.
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Senator Walker – Jersey’s international image would best be served by effective representative government, an independent judiciary and a just tax system. All things that other jurisdiction have or are striving for, although it seem to me that many people in Jersey profit greatly because we don’t have any of these. We need them now. I’ll send you my bill in the morning.
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So when the uk is talking about pulling out of our healthcare system…..and now we’re wasting money.
Oh god i think im going to move!
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I love these comedy items in the press,
keep them up!!!
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Ah an office in Bussels for Jersey now I understand where you are going Mr Walker or an office in London or maybe both.
How about just letting you play in the millenium park instead.
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what is this guy on? its a disgrace is he trying to shaft the people !
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must be seen to be doing something…making efficiencies in existing spending would be a better way to go not spending more money.
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I’m with Bruce, if you want to improve your image to the outside world (and that would include me) then stop appearing so corrupt; introduce an actual democracy; stop actively increasing the gap between the haves and the have nots; stop spending money on rubbish like “Jersey, life enriching”; let the UK help you with ongoing criminal investigations which they have more experience handling; and, as someone else said, “stop trying to be a mini-London” all these offices down towards your waterfront are quite ugly, yet you’re building more and more.
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It was a little piece of good news to see that the proposal for free child care was passed, but our Chief Minister in waiting Senator Le Sueur, was against it as it was too costly.
However, £1/2 million to improve our international image is not only a good idea, but money well spent?!?
This is an obvious case of twisted priorities and warped morality. Affordable child care IS a valid and moral way of spending money and if we have to raise it by taxing the rich and affluent, then that is a fair representation of a fully inclusive society and not one that is slanted towards the wealthy.
Senator Le Sueur has yet again shown where his priorities lie and it is not, as ever, with the people of Jersey. The sooner we can have a vote for Chief Minister the better and this time, the people should stand up and say who it should be, not the council of cronies.
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But won’t your island have a better international image if it continues to fail its residents and wastes money on idiocy like that mentioned in the article?
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£1/2million on Jersey’s image!! after reading the article on the possibility of withdrawing free health care in the uk i think this is disgusting, what matters more the health of your residents or what the world thinks of you?! This money could be contributed to healthcare services/NHS, as has been said Jersey has some of the riches people living on it yet you cant seem contribute to the health service?
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I was born in Jersey and love it here but have watched in horror as it has been corrupted and polluted and effectively destroyed by the rich and greedy who get the backing of our very own government !
It is all very well wanting to be a big financial centre blah blah blah but is it really worth it if the island loses the families and therefore future generations. Most of the people I grew up with have fled due to the lack of consideration received by our so called government. Please open your eyes before it is too late – Save Jersey and stop destroying what once was and could be again a beautiful place to live.
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I’m with Sid Cynic what an about turn from Terry le Sueur and his cronies who all voted against it last time ! why the big change ? let’s just see if this really does happen I wait with bated breath to get my free child care place at least my daughter will be warm for 20 hours a week over the winter !!!!!!!!!!! It’s about time money was spent on the people who need it, I can’t even begin to understand how this money can suddenly turn up and be allowed to be used for such a pathetic reason.
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Spend a 1/2 million on a media spin – no way – not with my well earned cash you don’t, enough is enough FW, get your priorites right, listen to your people!!
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I thought that the flying banana was supposed to improve Jersey’s image….obviously it’s being run by monkeys (oops! sorry, that’s discrimination against monkeys)
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Half a million pounds of hard earnt taxpayers money just to attempt to improve Jersey’s image and reputation.
This just reinforces the now famous speech made by our Bailiff on the world stage on Liberation Day.
That people who have been abused by people in authority are not as important as Jersey’s reputation. People won’t forget – especially when it comes to injustice!
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Improve Jerseys Image ?
Firstly 99.9 per cent of the worlds population have never heard of jersey so exactly who are they trying to improve the image to ?
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